Gas ejection bomb for dispersing solid particulates



June 15, 1965 P. s. ROACH ETAL 3,188,954

GAS EJECTION BQMB FOR DISPERSING SOLID PARTICULATES Filed May 14. 1958 Fig.

u n 2 i i 70 i i l 59 i 44 i 6/ l6! 5/ i 47 i; 45 \k 140 1 29 2* INVENTORS 2 3 Paul 6. Roach 3/ 7 Harold 6. Walngarfnd BY A a I3 27 2 6 2/ 23 ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,188,954 GAS EJECTION BOMB FOR DISPERSING SOLID PARTICULATES Paul G. Roach, Dover, N.J., and Harold C. Weingartner,

Marblehead, Mass., assignors to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army Filed May 14, 1958, Ser. No. 735,345 1 Claim. (Cl. 102-6) This invention relates to a gas ejection bomb so constructed that it will disperse finely divided toxic solids upon impact with the ground or a solid object.

It is an object of this invention to develop an aerial bomb for ejecting and dispersing a toxic powder into the air in the form of a low hanging cloud, which will persist as long as possible.

It is another object of this invention to provide a means for etfectively dispersing solid toxic particulates without the use of an explosive or heating means which would seriously limit or destroy the effect of heat-sensitive solid toxic particulates.

In the accompanying drawing:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal view of a carbon dioxide cyinder gas ejection bomb, a portion of the bomb casing being broken away to show certain parts in section.

FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional view of the gas ejection bomb taken on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a partial longitudinal sectional view of a detonator type of air cylinder gas ejection bomb.

FIG. 4 is a partial longitudinal view of a shearing pin type of air cylinder gas ejection bomb with parts broken away, showing certain parts in section.

The bomb comprises a casing 1 which includes a cylindrical body portion 2, joined at 3 to a nose assembly 4, and conical tail section 5. Within the casing 1 is a cylindrical reinforcing sleeve 6. There is a nose base 7 at a first end and diffuser vanes 9 at a second end of the bomb. The nose base 7 comprises a nose outer cup 11 and a nose inner cup 13. Nose assembly 4 is secured to the nose base 7 by nose cup screws 16. The nose assembly 4 supports the gas cylinder and fuse described below.

The hexagonal shaped nose base 7 corresponds with a hexagon formed when the tail vanes 15 at the second end are folded in to facilitate bomb clustering. The tail vanes 15 fold about the conical tail section 5. A pivoting rivet 19 is used to connect the tail vanes 15 to the conical tail section 5. Vane bracket 20, dilfuser nut 22, and tail sleeve 24 keep the tail vanes 15 and the diffuser vanes 9 in place.

The fuse comprises an arming pin 23, and an arming spring 25, which is used to eject the arming pin 23. An arming wire 21 is removed when the bomb is clustered with others for use. Pin 23 is then held in place by clip 26. Retainer balls 27 cooperate with the arming pin 23 to restrain the fuse operation. The fuse body 29 forms the base for the elements which comprise the fuse. A collar 31 and its attached primer firer 33 are located adjacent to the retainer balls 27. A retainer spring 35 is positioned between the collar 31 and the primer 37. The retainer spring 35 circumscribes the primer firer 33 so as to prevent the primer firer 33 from accidentally striking the primer 37. The primer 37 is located within the fuse plunger 39. In FIG. 1 a piston 40 is separated from the free plunger 39 by a small space. The base of the firing pin 41 is secured to piston 40. A piston spring 42 is located between the piston 40 and a cylinder 44 which contains liquified carbon dioxide. The piston spring 42 prevents the firing pin 41, which is situated between the springs of the piston spring 42, from accidentally striking and rupturing a first shear disc 47.

The heater primer 49 is adjacent to the first shear 3,188,954 Patented June 15, 1965 ice disc 47 and is at a first end of heater tube 51. Heater support 53 is also mounted at the first end of heater tube 51 and is adjacent to the heater primer 49. The exterior of heater support is formed of flutes 55. A heater sealing cup 59 is at the second end of the heater tube 51. Liquid carbon dioxide 61 is contained in cylinder 44 and surrounds the heater tube 51. The fluted heater support 53 passes through a cylindrical opening in the end of cylinder 44. The flutes thus form longitudinal passages, which communicate with the interior of cylinder 44. The outer ends of these passages are closed by first shear disc 47.

In FIG. 3 a detonator 43 is located adjacent to the fuse plunger 39. The first shear disc 47 blocks the entrance to the cylinder 144 and is positioned next to the detonator 43. Compressed air 161 is contained in cylinder 144 of this second type gas bomb.

In FIG. 4 a piston 140 is separated from the fuse plunger by a small space. The base of a shearing pin 45 is secured to piston 140. A piston spring 42 is located between the piston 140 and the cylinder 144. The piston spring 42 prevents the shearing pin 45, which is situated between the coils of the piston spring 42, from accidentally striking and rupturing the first shear disc 47. The first shear disc 47 blocks the entrance to the cylinder 144 and is positioned next to the detonator 43. Compressed air 161 is contained in cylinder 144 of this third type gas bomb.

In all three cases there are first orifices 65, which are taped, 69, within the nose assembly 4. It will be noted that in all three modifications the elements lying between the orifices 65 and the opening in the end of cylinder 44 are so formed as to define a passage for the compressed gas, which passage is closed by shear disc 47. The solid toxic particulates 70 are contained in the space 71 between the casing 1 and the cylinder 44 or cylinder 144. A tail shear disc 73 is located within the conical tail section 5 at the second end of the bomb. The shear disc ring 74 is used to firmly position the tail shear disc 73. Tail orifices 75 are located at the base of difiuser vanes 9 at the second end of the bomb.

Operation In flight the three tail vanes are opened up by the air rushing up the casing 1 from the nose base 7. To produce maximum stability a maximum tail vane area is provided at a maximum distance from the bombs axis. When the cluster breaks up, clip 26 falls off and the arming pin 23 is ejected from the bomb by the ejection action of the arming spring 25. This permits the retainer balls 27 to roll freely inwardly, since the arming pin 23 is no longer between them. Upon contact with the ground or other solid object, the retainer balls 27 are pushed together by the downward sliding action of the walls of the plunger 39, which due to its inertia overcomes the resistance of spring 35 and moves downwardly, causing primer 37 to strike primer firer 33.

Explosion of primer 37 explodes detonator 43 (FIG. 3), propels firing pin 41 (FIG. 1), or propels shear pin 45 (FIG. 4).

In the modification shown in FIGURE 1, explosion of primer 37 drives firing pin 41 through the first shear disk 47 and detonates heater primer 49. The heater tube 51 contains a mixture of potassium perchlorate, charcoal and oil. This mixture is ignited by primer 49 and burns rapidly, evolving a large amount of heat. The products of combustion are potassium chloride and carbon dioxide. The heat given off by the combustion vaporizes the liquified carbon dioxide 61 in the cylinder 44. The pressure developed further ruptures shear disc 47, exposing the ends of the passages formed by flutes 55. The carbon dioxide in cylinder 44 and that formed by the reaction in tube 51 then flow through orifices 65, bursting tape 69 and entering the space 71 between the cylinder 44 and easing 1, in which the solid toxic particulates 70 are located.

The mixture, KClO and charcoal, in the heater burns rapidly at high pressure, but only slowly at low pressures. The burning therefore ceases or is retarded when pressure is released. This avoids overheating of the toxic particulates.

In FIG. 3 the first shear disc 47 is ruptured by the detonator 43 while in FIG. 4 the first shear disc 47 is ruptured by the shearing pin 45. This permits, in both cases, the compressed air 161 in the cylinder 144 to flow out past the ruptured first shear disc 47 and into the first orifices 65. The tapes 69 are burst by the air pressure in the first orifices 65 and the compressed air fiows into the space 71 between the casing 1 and the cylinder 144.

Now, in all cases, the carbon dioxide gas or the air mixes with the solid toxic particulates and flows through the conical tail section which is converged to increase the velocity at its second end where the tail shear disc 73 is located. The tail shear disc 73 bursts due to the pressure of either the carbon dioxide gas and the solid toxic particulates or the air and the solid toxic particulates depending on the type of bomb used, and the mixture flows past the ruptured tail shear disc 73 and out the tail orifices 75.

The difiuser vanes 9 deflect the finely divided solid particulates coming out of the tail orifices 75 into three separate low hanging clouds for maximal efiect. Other gases can be used to disperse the solid toxic particulates, if desired. However, carbon dioxide is preferable to certain other liquifiable gases, such as ammonia, because of its inert and odorless characteristics.

It will also be obvious that various other changes can be made. We therefore wish our invention to be limited only by the following claim.

We claim:

A gas ejection bomb for dispersing solid particulates comprising an elongated casing having a first end and a second end, a nose base at said first end of said casing, a fuze mounted within said casing adjacent said nose base, said fuze defining at least one orifice communicating with the interior of said casing, a closed cylinder mounted within said casing and having an opening adjacent said fuze means, a heater tube within said cylinder, a heater primer, in a first end of said heater tube, a heater support mounted at said first end of said heater tube and within said opening, said opening having walls surrounding and contacting the exterior of said heater support, said heater support having a plurality of longitudinal fiutes on its exterior, defining with the walls of said opening a series of passages from the interior to the exterior of said cylinder, a first shear disk mounted between said fuze and said opening and closing said passages, said fuze comprising a firing pin aligned with said heater primer, liquified carbon dioxide in said cylinder surrounding said heater tube, a conical tail section at said second end of said casing having its larger end joined to said casing and having a discharge opening at its smaller end, a tail shear disk closing said discharge opening, diffuser vanes mounted over the exterior of said discharge opening, stabilizing vanes mounted on said bomb adjacent said second end of said casing, the interior of said casing being unobstructed between said orifice and said shear disk, a charge of finely divided solid material within said casing and outside said cylinder; said fuze being impact sensitive, whereby on impact said firing pin penetrates said first shear disk and ignites said primer which thereupon ignites said heater tube, vaporizing said carbon dioxide and rupturing said first shear disk, thus permitting said carbon dioxide to flow out through said passages and said orifice into the space between said casing and said cylinder and burst said second shear disk, whereupon said carbon dioxide will flow out through said discharge opening and said difiuser vanes, carrying said solids in suspension.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,001,249 8/35 Larson 102-92 2,263,585 11/41 Moore et al. 102-6 2,367,699 1/45 Summerbell 102-77 X 2,479,570 8/49 Hayner et al 222-399 X 2,559,091 7/51 Reasenberg.

2,599,728 6/52 Seaberg 222-399 X 2,812,783 11/57 Bufogle 222-399 2,821,924 2/58 Hansen et al. 102-50 BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner.

SAMUEL BOYD, ARTHUR M. HORTON, Examiners. 

